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My Ride
by Hal Thompson
This was a trip I took on Tatar in 2002.
Day One:
As I reached the highway about a mile from the house, I turned west to the Glide Store to refuel before heading east up Hwy 138 toward Diamond Lake and points east. There were 6-8 fire rigs waiting to refuel, due to the big fire up river from us, so I decided to refuel in Cottage Grove, about 50 miles to the north, and take Hwy 126 through the Santiam Pass to Central Oregon. It was a great day to be riding, and I was looking forward eagerly to my trip to Missouri.
I stopped to take a picture of Prineville OR, a beautiful town in Central Oregon, and the home of one of my favorite cousins, and continued east to Prairie City OR, where I refueled again, and kept on truckin'. I passed just before, or just after, a number of rain showers, caught a picture of a rainbow east of Mitchell, finally reaching Parma ID, where I stopped for the night. 715 KM today, a fairly long day for a decrepit old man. The Parma area apparently uses TONS and TONS of organic fertilizer.
Next morning, I headed down a secondary road to Marsing, Brunei, Murphy, and several other small towns, before getting on the freeway at Burley, as I needed to make better time. I like Idaho - mostly - and enjoyed the landscape and a couple of their fine rest areas, stopping for lunch at Twin Falls. I stopped at a small park at the edge of the Snake River Gorge as I entered town, and just got my camera unleashed in time to catch a BASE jumper at the bottom of the gorge. He and two others had jumped from the bridge. After a lunch of Chicken Fingers and Onion Petals, I continued, ending the day in Logan UT. 531 KM today, a bit more like it. I have noticed my gas mileage decreasing by about 1 mpg per tank of fuel. More on this later.
Next morning, I saddled up and headed down Logan Canyon toward Bear Lake WY, stopped in Kemerer, WY at the Busy Bee for a Navajo Taco, and on to Laramie for the night. 574 KM today. Since I am traveling the freeway, there isn't a whole lot to tell about, so the narrative may seem a bit skimpy to some.
>From Laramie, I stopped and got a backlit picture of 'Honest Abe' at
>the top
of Cheyenne Pass, and stopped at Cabela's in Sydney NE for a bottle of bug juice for Sharon (when I meet her in MO), and got off the freeway to travel Hwy 30 due to the roughness of I-80. USS 30 was almost as bad. As I entered the 45 mph speed zone at Cozad NE, the back end suddenly started doing the hula and I knew the back tire was flat. Curses!!
I called MTS (my insurance people) to find a tow, and in the interim the local Deputy came by and tried to find a local tow. A biker named "Con Man" heard him on the scanner and came over to see what was going on. Well, He convinced me to take the bike to his house for the night (it was now a bit past 1700), and he "could fix that flat with a couple screwdrivers" in the morning. Well, we decided it was a little bit more work than that, and he called several people, finally reaching a CMA (Christian Motorcycle Ass'n) friend who worked for the Yamaha store in Kearney, 50 miles east. (The local tow guy who showed up wanted $200 to take me to Kearney, and charged me $30 for the half mile to Con Man's house.). The CMA guy said they could fix the flat first thing Tuesday morning - this was Sunday, Labor Day weekend. Murphy strikes again!
So Mike (Con Man finally told me his real name) took me to a local motel and he & I had supper at the local BK Broiler.
Next morning, Mike shows up with his buddy Big Bob (and I mean BIG!), with Tatar on a trailer behind a Suburban, and we headed for Kearney. They deposited me at a Holiday Inn Express across the street from the Yamaha store, and wouldn't take any money, but would let me buy lunch at Skeeter Barnes BBQ place - exceptional food. One of the appetizers is sweet potato chips, dipped in a mix of ranch dressing & BBQ sauce, and you can eat yourself sick on this stuff.
Next morning, I call the Yamaha store at 0800. "We're just getting things moved around and will be over to get you shortly". I called again at 0900, mentioning that I would also like a valve adjustment and oil change. He said they were too busy for that, but would fix the flat and be over shortly. At 1000 I called 'Motorhead Fred" a biker friend of Con Man's who had a shop. Fred said he couldn't get to me, but that "Wayne" probably could. Sure enough, Wayne called in a few minutes, we made a deal, and I called the Yamaha store and told them to forget it. He said "The boss is just hooking up to the trailer to come and get you". I told him to tell the boss to have a cup of coffee.
Wayne's helper showed up with his floppy hat, sidewall haircut, rings in both ears and one eyebrow, stud through his lower lip, cut off pants at the knees, tattoos on arms & legs, and we loaded Tatar on the trailer. Eric turned out to be a pretty nice kid and, by today's standards, pretty normal, I guess. He's certainly a good mechanic. He fixed the flat (pinched tube) and replaced the pinch bolt I noticed missing from the front axle, changed the oil in the engine and gearbox, and I told him to put a new pinch bolt in the rear, as well.
Then Wayne (the owner of Great Plains Motorcycles, 1850 W Hwy 50, Kearney NE 68845, 308-236-5857) started on the valve adjustment. The exhaust valve on the right side was about ?", but adjusted up OK; however the intake on the left wouldn't tighten. Turned out to be a broken adjuster bolt and explained the fines in the valve cover. Wayne dug around his bolt box and found a hardened bolt with the same size and thread pitch, and made me a new one that would probably last longer than me. So, after paying the $113 bill and tipping each of them $20 for the service they gave me, I headed south on a secondary state road at around 1615.
About an hour and a half later, I'm on a gravel country road, 77 KM south of Kearney, doing about 50mph up a hill on this rural detour, when there was a bright flash, a BIG puff of smoke, and everything died. I thought it was going to catch on fire, but it didn't. So, I barely had cell service and called MTS again who said if I hadn't heard from them in 25-30 minutes, to call back. I told him I had a low battery on the phone & would call back. After about 25 minutes, I called and he said Wayne from Great Plains was trying to get hold of me, so I called Wayne and he said he and Eric were coming to get me, and that Eric's dad, who lived in Franklin about 6 km away, would come and keep me company until they got there. He reminded me very much of one of my nephews, and was very nice and helped pass the time quickly, considering.
Wayne and Eric got there just at dark, we loaded the bike, dropped Eric in another small town up the road so he could party with friends, and got back to Kearney about 2230, got me checked into a motel next to a Perkins, and Wayne and I had dinner.
Next morning I called him at about 0830 and he said the wire from the alternator to the battery was fried, but there didn't appear to be any other damage. He picked me up and we had breakfast at Perkins, and back to the shop. Pulled the alternator and the case was broken all around the middle, shorting everything out. Called Gary Kelsey, who shipped out a new alternator overnight. I told Wayne that I had to meet Sharon in Springfield MO Thursday about 1300 (this was Wednesday about 1100), so I would rent a car and come back to get the bike on Monday.
I called Enterprise, got a quote for a Cavalier, and they gave me a GMC Sonoma 4WD in bright yellow for the same price. I asked for any additional discounts, AARP, military, just-for-the-hell-of-it, and the manager said "No, but I'll give you 5% for that hat (I was wearing my floppy wide brim hat)."
So, I headed out a bit after 1300 for Stockton MO, where the Thumper National was being held. I had cancelled my Wednesday reservation when it looked like I wouldn't make it, but I called now and said if he hadn't given my room away, I would be in late tonight. Got there about 2300, got my room (a/c didn't work) and crashed. Got up Thursday morning too late for the breakfast at the resort, so went to town for some food, came back & visited with some of the other riders, then headed for Springfield to meet Sharon. We had agreed that when she got off the plane, she would call my cell and I would pick her up at the terminal. When she called, I told her to look for a bright yellow pickup. No problem with identifying that one!
We went back to Stockton, got our room changed to one with a/c, visited a bit, then went for the awards dinner. Some FINE catfish!! And many awards for almost everyone. It was great to renew old friendships and make a few new ones.
Friday morning, we left for Ava, MO, where I grew up, to visit friends and family. My aunt, who was my second mother and the primary purpose of this visit, had had a stroke just before I left home, and had another on Tuesday, and was in a coma, so a lot of the pleasure was gone. We did have a relatively good visit with my cousin
Leo and his wife Kay - whom I had introduced back in June of 1954 - and he & I worked some on the family tree.
We had to cancel our plans to visit my friend in Arkadelphia AR and head back to Kearney to get the bike, so Sunday morning we had breakfast with two friends of mine from here in Roseburg OR! Wayne & Barb Fleming lived in Thayer, where they had moved when he retired from the USPS in June '94, just before I did in September '94. The other friend I had known since 1959. He had owned a brake & alignment shop here and had sold it in '93 and moved to Scottsdale. His wife developed cancer, so they moved back here, but she passed away. A bit later, he met another lady and the last I knew, had married her and was living in Florence OR. He had stopped by for coffee with the "Over The Hill" gang in mid-August, and as we were catching up, he said he had to be going. I said "where", and he said "home". I said "back to Florence", and he said "no, I live in Missouri now", and I said "where" and he said "Ava" and I said "You're joking - I grew up there. I guess I'll see you in about 4 weeks!" Small world. We had a great visit.
As we were winding down, Wayne asked Sharon "How's Troy?" (Her son), catching us both by surprise. She asked how he knew Troy, and it turned out they had both had back surgery at the same time and became friends. Again, small world.
So, we headed back to Kearney, turned in the truck, picked up the bike, and hit the road. We headed for Dodge City, fighting strong winds with occasional wind, and the mileage had kept dropping. At our last fill-up in Dodge City, it was 17.8 mpg, and I noticed that our lights had disappeared, also. We checked into a motel and I said I would check the bike tomorrow - probably a blown fuse, and dirty air filter. For dinner that night I had the best hamburger steak I have had in years.
Next morning, it was nasty, rainy, windy, and I said "Bulls..t, let's rent a U-Haul", which we did and headed for Heber AZ, arriving Wednesday afternoon. Dennis & Becky (IvanRider) arrived Thursday afternoon, and we got the bike off the truck, and it took about ten minutes to trouble shoot it. Bad (not blown) fuse, and air filter plugged with oil. Washed out the filter, replaced the fuse, and plumbed the PCV to the rear of the bike with a piece of garden hose.
Friday, we took a test ride to Show Low, as Doris (our hostess) needed some propane and wanted a ride in the sidecar. About 80 miles round trip. The bike ran great and got 35.8 mpg!!
So, Saturday morning, we saddled up, rode along the Mogollon Rim & down to Payson, then up to Montezuma's Castle, and on the way out, the bike stuttered once, emitted three puffs of black smoke, and died. The ignition appeared to be half fried in the 100+ degree heat - no red LED, no fire, no nothing. (Later, Alex determined that the rotor had simply and suddenly loosened.)
So, called a tow truck from Flagstaff, and several hours and $182.50 later, we checked into a motel next to the storage yard for the tow company. I asked to leave it there and I would get my truck & trailer and be back for it.
We waited until next morning (Sunday) to rent a car & headed west. Becky rode in the car with us, as it was both hot and windy. In fact, when we were heading up out of Mojave CA, I asked Becky if Dennis had been drinking. She said "Why?" and I said "'Cause he's all over the road!" He said he had his hands full.
Over lunch, Dennis said "My trailer's at Galt, and we can take Becky's van and come back for the bike and save several days and a lot of bother." I said "You'd do that?" and he said "sure." So when we got to Galt (just south of Sacramento), we spent the night at his parents' house (a museum - really) and Tuesday morning Dennis & I headed up through Jackson to Markleeville, Fallon, Austin, Ely, and spending the night in Delta UT, having dinner at the same place we did last year.
Meanwhile, Sharon headed back to Orygun, would work a couple days, leaving after work Friday with her son Troy & my trailer, turn the rental in at Medford, and meet us in Galt.
Wednesday about noon or so, I called the tow company, told them we were at Marble Canyon, and would be there in about three hours after having lunch at Cameron, which we did. We got to the yard, saw the owner of the yard & explained our mission; he looked at his copy of the invoice, and told his man to open the gate for us to get the bike. We loaded the bike, and I asked him about storage charges. He looked at the invoice for $182.50 and said "You've paid it".
About 30 miles down the road, the phone rang, and it was the tow company saying they should have charged us storage. I told him I had asked the owner of the property about that and he had said that I paid it. The tow guy said "Robert (his driver) told you that storage would be $15 per day." I told him Robert had said no such thing, which he hadn't, and anyway, that was pretty steep. He said it was $25/day in Phoenix. I said "You charged me $182.50 for the same tow I got last week for $80." To which he said "I guess I will just have to blow this off" and I said "Thank you" and hung up.
So, then we stopped at the legendary Snow Cap Drive In in Seligman AZ for a coke & milk shake and renewed our acquaintance with Sr. Delgadillo. What a character! Back on the road, we heard an unusual noise from the trailer, stopped to check, but couldn't find anything, so started up again and after about 100 ft, checked again and found 4 of the 5 lug nuts loose on the left trailer wheel. Tightened them up, checked the other side, and then got back in the van. Dennis hit the starter - Silence!! After more than an hour of trouble-shooting, the starter was verified, as the Spanish say, as Muerto!!
My phone had no service, and Dennis' had one bar if he stood on the bank and held his mouth just right. Called 911. Busy. Again. Busy. Then he got out his AAA card, called them and, after FIFTEEN MINUTES on hold, told them we were 100 yards east of exit 96 on I-40 westbound, in a mini-van towing a trailer with a motorcycle and sidecar. They told us an hour to an hour and a half.
We were on the east side of an arroyo and the east/west lanes were separated by a hill on our side, but we could see the eastbound lanes as they dropped into the arroyo and we would, conversely, be visible to them so, after about an hour, we turned on our flashers (it was well and truly dark by this time). Our tow driver spotted us just before he passed exit 96, ducked off and under the freeway to our side, and backed up the off-ramp to us.
Dispatch hadn't told him about the trailer and bike, so he put the van on the roll-back and hooked the trailer to his stinger, and away we went. He took us to a motel across the street from the local Dodge/Plymouth dealer, and about 3 blocks from a Napa store. It was now (again) about 2230.
Dennis was up at his usual 0530, got dressed and went out. At about 0630, he came back in with the starter from the van, washed up, and said he was going to check out the continental breakfast and get some fresh air. I got up, showered, and was getting dressed when, at 0724 by my watch, in comes Dennis and said "Here's the new starter. I had breakfast, walked down to the Napa store, and was sitting on their step reading the paper when they opened at 0700." At 0815 we rolled out the driveway. If we had had to wait for the Dodge place; it would have been late afternoon and "mucho dinero", as opposed to $135 for a rebuilt starter and "in-house" labor.
It was pretty uneventful from there to Galt, where we arrived a day early on Thursday afternoon.
Dennis suggested that, since he had to go to Bodega Bay any way, we should meet Sharon in Woodland at Denny's for breakfast and save quite a few miles and a couple hours driving. I called my sis in Winters and suggested she join us for breakfast at Denny's in Woodland. She said which one - they've got three. I said the first one as you come from the north on I-5, which she identified as the West Street exit, so I called Sharon and passed this info to her. A good breakfast and really good visit with sis, and we transferred Tatar from Dennis' trailer to my enclosed one. After closing all the doors, Dennis said "There, now the virus is contained". Ha!! As we were coming into Red Bluff, Troy lost power steering. Saturday afternoon!.
We pulled into a McDonald's parking lot, Troy pulled the pressure hose that had ruptured, called the local Ford dealer, whose parts department was not only open, but had the part. In the interim I am visiting with a recently retired couple from Michigan, and Sharon exchanged pleasantries with them before joining Troy again.
Soon, she comes back and said "We've got a real problem. The Ford place had the part, but the local cab company is defunct and there is no bus service, and it is a mile and a half. The Michigan couple look at each other and he says "We could run them over there, couldn't we Hon?" Bless their little hearts. She took Sharon to the Ford place while I visited with him. Shortly, we are on our way again, and arrived home about 1900 Saturday PM.
What a trip!! On the surface, and at certain times during, it seems like the trip from hell. In reviewing all that happened, it really wasn't that bad. Every problem with Tatar, excepting the alternator, could, and has, happen to any bike. I've had flats on most of the bikes I've owned. The broken adjuster bolt could happen to anyone. The electronic ignition - I've heard many BMW owners pissing and moaning about their Dana and Boyer ignition systems. A pinch bolt can break on any bike.
The plus side is the quality time that Dennis and I had together, that we wouldn't have had on the bikes.
And, most importantly, if there was any doubt that Dennis is as good a friend as a guy could want, this should dispel any such thought.
I love my Ural, and it is back in business, compliments of "golden Hands' Alex, with the rotor properly tightened, a new timing gear, compliance fitting, and pistons checked for holes or other problems that might cause it to pump oil. Surely runs nice, and we will have to wait to see if the oil pumping has disappeared.
I took the Ural on this trip to prove its suitability for touring. Even though I had several problems, this bike is rapidly approaching such reliability.
Ps: Tatar now has a new home and home in Reardan, WA with Tom Wells and family.
Hal
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